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Led by the City of Tucson Office of Economic Initiatives, the Southern Arizona Coalition for Climate Adaptation and Resilience was named one of 60 finalists in EDA’s Build Back Better Regional Challenge out of more than 500 applicants from across the U.S. Though they did not win the phase two award, the region came away stronger and the coalition is staying together to maintain its commitment to building back better.

How does climate change impact economic development and an economic developer’s ability to operate and equitably grow their local or regional economy? What responsibility do economic developers have to do something about climate change? Here are five steps that will help you get started on the climate change journey.

Earlier this month, IEDC President and CEO Nathan Ohle hosted U.S. Deputy Secretary of Commerce Don Graves as part of IEDC’s Economic Development Sessions. These sessions serve as fireside chats between Ohle and leading economic development officials, thought leaders, and experts. Ohle and Graves analyzed several issues surrounding current economic challenges as a result of the pandemic, including infrastructure, supply chains, workforce availability, and the system’s capacity to innovate. They also discussed building more resilient economies to combat climate change. Graves pointed out that these problems have demonstrated the system’s lack of capacity to innovate, but reveal a unique opportunity to change those ...

In August, President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) into law. The act is designed to fight inflation, invest in domestic energy production and manufacturing, and reduce carbon emissions by roughly 40 percent by 2030. Specifically, the bill includes $369 billion in investments towards energy security and climate change. Below is a brief overview of the energy provisions and the potential implications the act has for consumers, employers, and manufacturers. Lowers energy costs for Americans – The incentives in the bill will alleviate the burden of high energy costs and decrease utility bills. Additionally, it includes incentives that will help consumers afford more energy efficient and cleaner technologies. The bill ...

The new CitiesSpeak podcast, hosted by National League of Cities CEO and executive director Clarence Anthony, gives listeners a close look at local leadership across the United States. His guest on the first episode was Mitch Landrieu, who served as the mayor of New Orleans from 2010 to 2018 and is now a senior advisor under the Biden Administration in charge of coordinating the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The episode focused on the implementation of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, part of the Build Back Better plan. Landrieu’s experience as mayor has assisted him in his new role. His tenure as mayor was “where the rubber meets the road” whereas federal positions often feel as if they are ...

IEDC held its Annual Conference last week in Oklahoma City featuring dozens of sessions covering today’s most important economic development topics. Here are a few of the highlights.

On June 30, California passed the Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act, legislation that could eliminate 23 million tons of plastic over the next decade. As California is the world’s fifth largest economy and the most populous U.S. state, experts expect that the law’s impact on the plastics industry will be significant and far-reaching. The law mandates that manufacturers achieve a 25 percent reduction in the plastic content of their packaging and make all single-use items (including paper and metals) recyclable or compostable by 2032. To successfully reach these targets, companies can decrease the size of their packaging, switch to alternative materials, and/or make their products reusable. ...

In the past few years there have been substantial efforts to revitalize and diversify Eastern Kentucky’s post-coal economy through small business programs and other local initiatives. However, heavy flooding has and will continue to wash away much of the progress these communities make unless more is done to minimize physical damage from future disasters. Widespread flash flooding recently devastated several Eastern Kentucky counties, killing at least 39 people. The region lies within Appalachia, one of the nation’s most economically depressed and vulnerable regions. Its high poverty rate, mountainous landscape, and housing dispersed in remote valleys all exacerbate the impact of extreme weather which is likely to become more ...